1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for wrapping battery cores and, more particularly, to wrapping layers of anodes, cathodes and insulator material for use as rechargeable nickel/cadmium battery cores.
2. Description of the Background Art
A relatively recent development in the battery art is the rechargeable battery. A core of such rechargeable battery is made of an electrically conductive anode and an electrically conductive cathode wrapped in a cylindrical manner about an axis in a jelly roll fashion. The conductive layers are separated by insulating layers such as paper.
With the development of such rechargeable batteries, there has been a continuing effort to devise methods and apparatus for the convenient fabrication of their cores. Core wrapping methods and apparatus are disclosed and practiced in commercial machinery such as those marketed by Engineering Innovations, Inc. of Gainesville, Florida; Rafferty, Inc., also of Gainesville, Florida; and General Electric Corporation of Schenectady, New York. Such commercial machinery for wrapping battery cores are evidence of the continuing effort to develop more convenient, efficient and economical techniques in this field of technology. While adequate for their intended purposes, present core wrapping machines are characterized by complex mechanisms which unduly increase the cost of such cores and the batteries in which they are utilized. In addition, such core wrapping machinery are characterized by an undesirable layer of insulating material, extending diagonally across the open central portion of the core. With these shortcomings, it is an object of the present to provide machinery which overcomes the aforementioned inadequacies of the prior art devices and methods and to provide an improvement which is a significant contribution to the battery core wrapper art.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for the fabrication of rechargeable battery cores formed of component layers of electrically conductive layers and inter-leafed electrically insulating layers in a coil-like manner comprising an arbor rotatable about its axis for the receipt and support of the core component layers and for winding such core component layers thereon; associated support roller means located adjacent to the arbor for forming a nip and for feeding the component layers to and around the arbor; tray means positioned adjacent to the arbor and support roller means to feed the component layers to the nip and around the arbor; and a tucker bar operatively associated with the arbor and support roller means adapted to move the leading edge of the insulating component layers for being rotated around the arbor prior to the feeding of the conductive component layers.
It is a further object of the invention is to feed anode, cathode and inter-leafed insulating material for winding around a rotating arbor and to initiate such winding with the assistance of a tucker bar.
A further object of the present invention to wrap component layers into a jelly roll type configuration for use as cores of rechargeable batteries.
Lastly, it is an object of the invention is to fabricate cores for rechargeable batteries more conveniently, efficiently, and economically.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.